The locals’ guide to Newcastle.

Locals and visitors rely on the Newcastle App to discover the best things to see and do in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. First launched in 2011 and popular across Australia, Europe and Asia Pacific, the Newcastle App has been relaunched in October 2014 in response to market demand and eager requests from local businesses.

Why was the Newcastle App created?

To put the locals’ guide to Newcastle in the pocket of every resident and visitor.

Who’s behind it?

Novocastrians Andy Howard and Andrew McLeod created and manage the Newcastle App. They’re lifelong mates who’ve couchsurfed together in about 20 countries and who knows how many cities.

What’s the plan?

What are Premium Listings?

Around 50% of Australian businesses don’t have a website (source: BRW). Far fewer have an active online strategy. By providing premium listings to restaurants, bars, hotels, wineries and other local favourites, we’re equipping businesses with a strong online presence and connecting them with a very interested audience. For businesses, the Newcastle App provides a local area marketing platform and drives visitation from locals and tourists. All premium listings are subject to approval. Our terms and conditions explain this further.

What’s the history?

Launched as an iPhone app prototype in 2011, the Newcastle App organically grew to around 10,000 downloads.

The App was inspired by a year of couchsurfing around the world – staying with locals and experiencing cities as a resident, not a tourist. For visitors, the goal was to create this experience for all of Newcastle’s visitors by giving them local knowledge in their pocket. For residents, the goal was to centralise the city’s favourite places and events in a single useful app.

The catalyst for creating the App was Lonely Planet ranking Newcastle as a top 10 city for 2011 (source: Lonely Planet). The App was created to solve a problem for a sudden influx of visitors. The first version was a basic prototype; people used it, liked it and asked for more. The second version was a more complete prototype. You’re looking at the third version.

Who created the logo?

Newcastle’s Trevor Dickinson was commissioned to create the Newcastle App logo. Trevor’s Newcastle sketches are available for purchase at the Newcastle Productions online store.

Do you have stickers for my shop/bar/restaurant?

Not just yet. Won’t be long.

Contact Details

hello@newcastleapp.com.au.

The Newcastle App

The Newcastle App puts the locals’ guide to Newcastle in the pocket of every resident and visitor.